


Building Home

by Jcsands



Category: The 100 (TV), The 100 Series - Kass Morgan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Clexa, Contractor Lexa(The 100), Designer Clarke Griffin(The 100), Endgame Clarke Griffin/Lexa, F/F, Mutual Pining, Past Costia/Lexa (The 100), Slow Burn, Slow Burn Clarke Griffin/Lexa
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-22
Updated: 2021-01-27
Packaged: 2021-02-27 08:28:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 20,603
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22364110
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jcsands/pseuds/Jcsands
Summary: As the owner and operator of TreeKru General Contracting, Lexa is proud of the company she has built and the work that they do. She is dedicated and efficient, building custom homes across the region for the powerful Polis Investments. However, Polis' latest change in design firms might be more of a headache than she bargained for. Can Lexa find a way to work with the unconventional new designer? Can they find a way to bring together Clarke's ideas and Lexa's skills to build what they both need?
Relationships: Bellamy Blake/Echo, Clarke Griffin & Lexa, Clarke Griffin/Lexa, Octavia Blake/Lincoln
Comments: 67
Kudos: 252





	1. 30 degrees

Lexa stared at the screen. She could feel the irritation rising but forced herself to lock it down. She’d dealt with far worse and knew that this new design firm would be under control in no time. Lexa had been the head of Treekru General Contracting for years and had been groomed for the position her whole life. She had worked hard to maintain alliances with the best subs in town and her crew was hardworking and extremely loyal. Still, she was annoyed at the certain upheaval it would cause. New designers always had new ideas and zero respect for how things were done here on the ground. 

She tucked the phone away, grabbed her gloves, and hopped out of the truck. The morning was crisp and a dewy mist still hung between the trees. The sun was just about to crest over the hill to the east lighting up the forest and ocean beyond. Lexa liked her mornings alone on new sites. It gave her a chance to really get to know the land and helped her to see how the new structure would play with the natural surroundings. Reaching over the edge of the truck she grabbed a shovel and a handful of stakes out of the bed. 

Walking the last 100 yards to where the house would eventually sit, Lexa surveyed the land. She dropped the stakes and dug a small hole using her years of experience to get a rough estimate of the soil and how it would affect the build. She walked another 10 feet down a small slope and dug again. She repeated this process four or five times, each time replacing the dirt to the hole when she was done. Then she stood where the main wall of windows would face out towards the Southwest. The view was incredible. The tree covered hill plummeted into the ocean below and islands dotted the horizon. She lightly twirled the shovel on the ground as she thought through all the information in her head; plans, layout, topography, timing, and possible complications. She heard an engine cut and light footsteps approach her, the tall muscular frame stopped just next to her without speaking a word.

“It should be a fun one,” noted Lexa to the new arrival, “not without its challenges of course.” 

“Lexa, you wouldn’t be having fun if there weren’t challenges.” Indra teased in her low voice that was almost a growl.

Lexa continued staring forward across the expansive view below but her lip quirked up slightly on one side at how well her friend knew her. They had worked together for many years and trusted one another completely. 

“Do I hear Polis might have some new challenges they decided to drop in from the sky?” Indra inquired.

“Don’t they always.”

Lexa heard a slight rustle and held up her hand to stop Indra from continuing. She turned, her senses heightened, she could feel something out there. Another small snap and Lexa immediately isolated the direction of the sound. About 30 feet up a giant Sequoia due east of their position. She couldn’t see clearly beneath the thick branches but noticed a blur of black fabric and heard more rustling. 

“Hey! You’ve got about 10 seconds to get down from there and explain yourself or I’m coming up to get you myself.” Lexa snarled. 

“Yeah, okay, just a sec” came a voice that was both warm but rough. 

Lexa still couldn’t make out a shape but was tracking the wisps of a black form swing from branch to branch down the tree. Finally, the lowest limbs shook as a woman ducked her head, pushing the final branches aside and emerging from within. She had beautiful wavy blonde hair with a few twigs sticking out here and there. Looking up she raised her hands slightly in a show of innocence as she took another step out from the tree. 

“Hi” said the stranger, giving them slight smile. 

Lexa stared still trying to figure out who the hell this woman was and why the hell she was up this tree. 

“Sorry, I didn’t think anybody would be here.”

Lexa simply furrowed her brow and shook her head in further confusion.

“Are you the Contractor?”

Lexa glanced back at Indra and then replied, “No, we just work for him. Now who are you and what are you doing on our job site?”

“Huh? That’s interesting. I was fairly certain that the general was a woman.” The blond paused looking Lexa over. “I remember, because I was looking forward to working with a woman.”

Lexa kept her gaze trained on the cool blue eyes in front of her but could feel the near imperceptible chuckle escape from Indra just behind her. 

“My name is Clarke Griffin,” said the blond, sticking out a hand towards Lexa. “I’m with Ark Interiors and Polis Investments just hired my firm to do their design work.”

_Ugh, off to a great start with the new designers already. _Lexa glanced at the outstretched hand but instead changed course, “Where’s your car?”__

____

Clarke was surprised by the shift in conversation but dropped her hand and replied, “My Rover’s at the pull out for county road 17. About eight miles back down the hill.”

____

Lexa narrowed her eyes and cocked her head slightly, “Why?”

____

Clarke broke their eye contact for the first time looking at the trees around her and shrugging her shoulders slightly, “You can’t get to know a piece of land by blasting up a driveway. To know if the design, the layout, the feel of a house is going to work on a fresh piece of property you have to get to know the area. I find the best way for me to do that is to approach it slowly. To really take in the rise and fall of the land under my feet, the softness of the soil, the movement of the trees,” she paused, shaking her head dismissively at herself, “It’s silly, I know.”

____

Lexa noted the slight softening of the woman before her and couldn’t help but admire her approach and passion for her work. She took a step forward and extended her hand towards Clarke “I’m Lexa Woods owner of Treekru General Contracting. And it’s not silly, if it works.”

____

Clarke smiled and Lexa thought she even noted a slight blush cross her face as she took her hand. The softness of her skin was intoxicating but there was a confidence in her grip that impressed Lexa too.

____

She took a step back and pointed to the sequoia, “So, were you just checking out the ‘movement of the trees’?”

____

“No,” Clarke shook her head becoming very serious, “I think we need to shift the house.”

____

The tall slim brunette let out a huff of a laugh at the boldness and ridiculousness of the newcomer. “That’s not happening, Clarke.”

____

“Look the ideal view from right here IS facing Southwest. But once you get up to where the second level would be you can actually see above that grouping of deciduous trees over there and it’s a clear view directly West. Now given our latitude I really think the ideal orientation is about 255 degrees West. It will give all the upper bedrooms a prefect sunset view all year long and with the wrap around porch it doesn’t take away from the Southwest island views from the first floor.”

____

Lexa shook her head. “The house is already designed, Clarke. The architect is done.”

____

“Yeah and keep that all the same. Just a 30 degree shift in the orientation of the foundation. The final building permit hasn’t been submitted yet right?”

____

Lexa knew it hadn’t but she crossed her arms and chose to simply not respond. She turned to visualize in her mind the cascading effects that a change like that would mean for the project. She had to admit that while it would require some up-front reworking, the bulk of the project would remain the same. When it came down to decisions like this she always tried to envision herself as the owner, she could imagine curling up to watch the summer sunsets from the bedroom balcony with a glass of wine. She felt herself relenting but was nervous that this new designer would get the wrong idea about always getting her way.

____

Lexa turned back to look up at the giant sequoia and then down to Clarke. “Show me.”

____

Clarke looked back towards the tree as if to confirm what she was asking, then gave a slight nod before turning and leading the way. Lexa followed and Indra simply smiled and shook her head thinking of all the new challenges that this build was sure to provide.

____

Clarke seemed to understand the pattern of the tree branches and moved deftly between them. Lexa followed closely behind, no stranger to using her body in a physical and active way. Suddenly Clarke halted and Lexa pulled herself to a stop just in time. She found herself incredibly close to the woman in front of her and was surprised at the way her breath caught and her heart pounded. _It really must have just been too long for her since Costia. But she didn’t need distractions, she didn’t want distractions right now. ___

______ _ _

“Sorry, just ran into a squirrel this direction maybe we can go up this way instead,” Clarke noted as she changed course slightly climbing up a new branch.

______ _ _

“Sure” Lexa replied trying to keep her voice steady.

______ _ _

“Almost there”

______ _ _

Lexa resumed climbing but made sure to keep a bit more distance between them.

______ _ _

Soon Clarke had reached a thick branch next to a slight opening in the greenery. She crouched between limbs and turned around to look out towards the water.

______ _ _

“Here,” Clarke reached out her hand to help Lexa balance in the small space that allowed the views she had described. “Look!”

______ _ _

Lexa reluctantly accepted Clarkes hand and braced herself against the branches, leaning in next to Clarke to see through the opening.

______ _ _

“Wow!”

______ _ _

They watched in silence for a moment surveying the view. Then Lexa felt Clarke observing her and remembered how close they were. Arms still steadied against one another for balance. Nodding she said, “Okay I’ll talk to the drafters about amending the lot sketches for the building permit.”

______ _ _

Clarke beamed. “And, I mean, maybe we could talk to the architect about just adding a set of French doors off the dining room and increasing the size of the wrap around porch on the south side to really make sure that we are capturing all that this view has to offer.”

______ _ _

Lexa turned and pierced the young woman with her green eyes.

______ _ _

“Just a thought.” Clarke gave a slight shrug as if she could go either way.

______ _ _

Lexa rolled her eyes and started back down the tree. 

______ _ _

Once they hit the ground Lexa headed immediately for her truck.

______ _ _

“Indra you finish up here I’m going to check in with Anya at the Shallow Valley site.”

______ _ _

Indra nodded in reply.

______ _ _

“Great I’ll meet you over there,” Clarke chimed in from behind her.

______ _ _

Lexa turned and pinned Clarke with an incredulous stare.

______ _ _

“Polis asked me to get up to speed on all of their investments,” Clarke responded innocently.

______ _ _

“Fine, but you ride with me. I’m not going to have some stranger prancing around my job sites.”

______ _ _

“Prancing?”

______ _ _

“Get in!” Lexa commanded as she hopped in and slammed her door.

______ _ _

As Clarke made her way around the truck Indra moved to the divers open window. She gave Lexa a knowing look and a raised eyebrow. Lexa rolled her eyes knowing that it was going to be a long day.

______ _ _


	2. Contradictions

They bumped along down the dirt road in silence. Clarke could tell that Lexa was less than thrilled to have her along for the ride and frankly she wasn’t stoked about being here either. It was only a week ago that Ark had informed her team that they were being relocated to a new project base halfway around the world. They had had to drop all of the projects they were working on and pack a bag. She was still jet lagged, living in a sterile rented apartment, and now she had to contend with a salty contractor that looked ready to rip her head off.

The only saving grace so far was that at least they landed in beautiful surroundings. Her team had most recently been on assignment in a barren wasteland designing modern compounds for the uber rich. There was only so much design you could do with a clean modern box in the middle of the desert. But this new setting was so dynamic; the hills, the ocean, the mountains, the trees, the moss, it all seemed so alive and vivid. So, Clarke just watched out the window as they continued down the switchbacks and then onto the main road, taking in as much as she could of her new environment.

Finally, Lexa broke the silence, “The Shallow Valley site is about an hour from here. It’s almost finished and we should be buttoning things up by next week.”

Clarke nodded, “Sounds good. My team is planning to meet me there to go over staging design and at least sketch out a game plan for the other projects.”

Clarke noticed Lexa take a tighter grip on the steering wheel. “As long as they stay out of the way. Just because Polis hired Ark doesn’t mean that you have free reign to…”

“Do you think we want to be here?” Clarke interrupted “Ark doesn’t give a shit about us. This was a business decision for them, they didn’t ask us. They just took us from everything we’ve known for the last two years and dropped us here. All we have is each other and we just want to do our jobs, ok?”

Clarke tried to fight the emotion and exhaustion that was taking over her body. Lexa surveyed Clarke closely seeming to consider what she had just been told. Clarke felt fluttering in her stomach and pounding in her chest under the captivating gaze of the contractor. Lexa gave a slight bow of her head and returned her eyes to the road. Clarke exhaled slightly realizing that she had been holding her breath under Lexa’s intense assessment.

“When did you all arrive?” Lexa asked in a curious tone.

“Yesterday,” Clarke responded somewhat defeated. Lexa simply nodded an acknowledgement of her answer.

They continued along the curves of the two lane drive in silence again. Clarke cursed herself for her outburst. While Lexa certainly didn’t seem excited to have them there, it wasn’t her fault either. And there was something about her, her quiet confidence and a hint of pain in her eyes, that intrigued Clarke.

As she continued to try pin-point what exactly it was that she was feeling drawn to, they pulled off the road into a small gravel lot. Clarke looked around confused. There only structure nearby was a large wood outbuilding so covered in moss and ivy that it appeared as if the forest was trying to reclaim it.

“Come Clarke,” Lexa commanded as she threw the truck into park and exited the vehicle.

Clarke was still confused but reached for her door and followed the brunette towards the building. There were no signs that gave any indication of where exactly she was being led and the building looked as if it could fall down at any moment. Clarke momentarily began to question her course of action. They had reached the door and without hesitation Lexa lifted the latch, swung the door open, and entered. So Clarke followed.

She was immediately hit with the brightness and openness of the space. They had entered a large room that comprised the entire front half of the building. There were high vaulted ceilings, rich old wood beams, and a fire roaring in the corner. The floor was a shiny polished concrete and the walls were a crisp, barren white except for where they held large canvases of artwork. Clarke could hardly hide her shock at the contradiction of this building. She turned in a circle trying to take in all of the details of the space and then noticed Lexa looking at her quite amused. Raising her hands to indicate the room around her Clarke questioned Lexa with her eyes but couldn’t even find words.

Lexa smirked playfully and shrugged, “Sometimes things are more than they appear.”

Clarke grinned back at Lexa appreciating how the warm light filtering in from the windows highlighted the beautiful waves of hair draping over her shoulder.

“Not what you were expecting?” Came a voice behind Clarke. She whirled around to see a blonde woman with a kind face crossing the room from a door that must lead to the other half of the building.

“No, not exactly” replied Clarke scratchily, finally finding her voice.

“That’s kind of what we were going for,” She said as she winked at Clarke. She turned her attention and continued on towards the quiet brunette stopping just in front of her.

“Hey Lex.”

“Niylah.” Lexa said as she gave a slight nod.

“It’s been too long.” she said, a sadness in her tone.

“It has,” Lexa paused briefly and continued earnestly, “I’m sorry.”

Niylah gave a dismissive wave of her hand. “I get it. Come here you,” she said as she pulled Lexa into a warm, affectionate embrace.

Clarke watched the scene unfolding wondering just how the two knew each other. The hug certainly indicated they were close but for some reason Clarke didn’t think they were **too** close. There was definitely some history there. _Wait, what was she thinking? This was absolutely none of her business._ Clarke shook away her thoughts as the two pulled apart.

“I’m glad to have you back friend,” Niylah said as she patted Lexa on the shoulder, “Now, what can I do for the two of you?”

“We were hoping for a cup of your magic and maybe some of your famous provisions for the road?”

“Well then you came to the right place.” Niylah said smiling at them both. She walked over to a sleek bar in the corner that Clarke hadn’t even noticed before. There was a full-sized espresso machine and a small food prep area behind the bar.

“What is this place?” Clarke asked unable to contain her confusion any longer.

Niylah chuckled at Clarke’s bewilderment.

“Clarke works for the new design firm that Polis hired.” Lexa explained, “She just got to town yesterday.”

“Ah,” Niylah smiled sweetly “Well, this is my art gallery. In the back is my studio and I live in the loft up above,” Niylah explained as she began working the knobs on the machine in front of her. “I don’t really advertise to the public much. Just private shows here and there but I like to be able to provide food and drink for my guests and anyone that might stop by.”

“It’s amazing!” Clarke responded still in awe.

“Thanks. I had the best builder around.” Niylah boasted raising her eyes to stare directly at Lexa and give her a little wink.

“You built this? I mean, well” Clarke paused now second guessing what she was trying to say, “From the outside this building looks ancient but in here it’s brand new?”

“Genius, right! It’s everything I had imagined, and she made it happen. Lexa took my little sketch on a napkin and ran with it, thinking of every little detail. And this was all outside of her real job. Honestly, I don’t know how you did it!”

Clarke found herself staring at Lexa waiting for more. The brunette appeared almost shy at the sudden focus of attention.

“How did you do this?” questioned Clarke genuinely confused at what she was seeing.

“I just, I sourced reclaimed wood from the area." She shrugged, "Every time I drove past a worn down old shed or collapsed barn I’d buy the wood off the owners. The beams are from an abandoned mining operation from the turn of the century. It’s way up in the hills and is nearly inaccessible. I had to drag them out one at a time with a draft horse. Then I designed the main interior structure to be square and plumb to give the nice clean lines inside but I created a secondary exterior framing skin that’s angled so when I installed the reclaimed wood siding it has the appearance that the whole structure is leaning and about to fall. There’s also a custom cut wire mesh system that the vines run along that sits just above the siding so that it has the appearance of being really covered in foliage but the structure itself isn’t being damaged at all. It was all your concept really.” Lexa said seemingly trying to shift the focus away from herself.

“I said, wouldn’t it be cool if it looked like a falling down old building on the outside and new on the inside. This,” Niylah twirled her finger in a circle indicating the room, “this was all you.” 

Niylah handed over two to-go cups along with two sandwiches wrapped in brown paper and tied with twine. Lexa handed one of the cups and sandwiches over to Clarke and began to pull out her wallet.

“Not a chance and you know it.” Niylah said shaking her head at Lexa’s cash, “Now get out of here! But don’t let it be so long next time.”

Lexa gave a grateful nod.

“Ready Clarke?”

“Sure,” Clarke responded, then turning back to Niylah and indicating the food in her hands she added, “Thank you.”

“Anytime.”

Clarke turned and trotted to catch up with Lexa. 

Back in the cab they organized their drinks and food after buckling in and Lexa started the truck up again.

“Thanks for taking me there.” Clarke said earnestly.

Lexa gave a slight nod, “I thought maybe we both could use some fuel. I know what it’s like to run on empty.”

Clarke eyed the brunette as she sipped the rich milky coffee that tasted like liquid gold and radiated warmth through her body.

Lexa backed up and pulled out onto the main road towards Shallow Valley.


	3. Introductions

They arrived at the Shallow Valley site just after 11am. Lexa pulled up across the street not wanting to block anyone in.

Clarke grabbed the rest of her sandwich and hopped out of the cab. The lot was an obvious work zone with several trucks and work vans in the driveway and various people coming and going. Clarke walked up to the front door and entered. Lexa followed just behind her.

“Clarke, thank god!” A young woman with jet black hair b-lined for Clarke the moment they entered the house. There was a grouping of unfamiliar faces in the open living room.

“I thought you said this one was nearly done!” the woman demanded, “I’m having things delivered at the end of next week and I do not want them covered with a layer of construction dust!” The woman finished with a bite in her tone.

Lexa stiffened turning her cool green eyes first to Clarke, then to the presumptive young woman, and then back to Clarke. Lexa’s crew knew better than to question her. She had earned their respect by working alongside them for years and guiding this company to a stable and successful place. She fought hard to make sure that her people were taken care of and for that they would never dare to question her in such a way. 

Clarke glanced back at Lexa. “Don’t worry O, it’ll get finished,” she said holding Lexa’s gaze for a moment.

Lexa’s stare softened slightly towards Clarke and she continued on towards the kitchen without addressing any of the newcomers.

In the kitchen, she found Anya hunched over plans and contracts spread out across the oversized island. The project was nearing completion and the newly installed marbled quartz countertops looked great against the navy cabinetry. She knew the rich maple floors would give a soft light balance to the room but they were currently covered for protection. 

“I see we have guests,” she said as stepped up next to Anya wiping some of the dust away from the countertops to appreciate the detail of the pattern.

“Yep,” Anya responded exasperated as she looked up from her work. Glancing over her shoulder towards the living room she continued, “so far they’ve pretty much kept to themselves, but I’ve had Lincoln keeping an eye on them.”

“Good. How are we looking?” Lexa asked as she nodded toward the plans in front of them.

Anya picked up one of the checklists in front of her. “Solid. Looks like all of the subs will be finishing up today. We should be able to scale down the crew here by the end of the day on Tuesday and leave Lincoln and Nyko to complete the punch list by next Friday. The owners bought the place furnished which I’m sure is why Polis put the rush on the new design team.”

Lexa nodded in agreement but was at least glad that it didn’t sound like she would have to deal with any added complications here today. Approaching footsteps drew her attention as Clarke and her team entered.

“May I?” Clarke asked pointing to the papers spread out. Lexa nodded and Clarke moved next to her setting down her sandwich and reaching in front of Lexa slightly for the page she was looking for.

Anya’s eyes went straight to the paper wrapped leftovers that Clarke had placed on the countertop and then to Lexa.

“Did you stop at Niylah’s?” she asked Lexa, searching her face.

Lexa looked back at Anya answering without words. Clarke glanced up at Lexa noting the slight intensity in Anya’s tone.

“Has she heard from her at all?” Anya asked quietly.

Lexa gave a small shrug of her shoulders, “Didn’t come up.”

Anya nodded and decided to let it go which Lexa was grateful for. She was already feeling thrown off at the closeness of Clarke next to her and really didn’t think she could stand an interrogation from Anya right now.

“So, does it work for you if my staging crew start with some of the basics on Thursday?” Clarke asked getting down to business. 

“Sure,” Lexa responded thankful for the change in subject. “We’ll be mostly done and going down to a limited crew on Wednesday. Anya is the Lead on this project. If you have any questions, ask her.” Lexa glanced around the corner towards the dining room, “Lincoln” she called summoning the man who had been installing baseboards in the next room over. “Lincoln is our best finish carpenter and will be working with Nyko to have everything wrapped up by next Friday.”

“Good to meet you,” Clarke responded. Then indicating her team she began introductions, “This is Octavia Blake, she is head of staging design and she’ll be doing the furnishings here. Her brother Bellamy Blake leads the landscape crew. They’ll be point on this one from our end. This is Montey Greene and Harper McIntyre, they are dedicated interior designers. And this is Raven Reyes, she does all of our 3D imaging and model building as well as fixes anything we can’t figure out.”

“Handy,” Lexa replied observing the team for a moment. She then shifted her focus back to Clarke, “Well, Clarke, I’ll give you a walk-though when you’re ready.”

“Yeah, sounds great. Let me just get them squared away.”

Clarke turned to address her team, “Okay, Bell I want you headed over to the Tondeecee Drive build to take measurements and sketch out a hardscaping plan. Montey, Harper head back to the office, the others should have it mostly set up by now. You’re going to be catching up on design plans for upcoming projects. Raven get together with the drafters on the Rockburn Ridge project. You remember the orientation change that I mentioned we might need to review?” Clarke paused looking to Lexa for final approval. Lexa gave her an affirming nod and Clarke continued, “Okay, make it happen. Center it to 255 degrees West. And O, I imagine you’ll want to stay here to get a feel for the place in prep for next week?”

“If it’s ready by then,” Octavia quipped under her breath.

Clarke shook her head and gave a warning look as the others started to head for their respective assignments.

Lexa stepped towards Clarke and Octavia “I trust you all can work around each other for a few days?” Lexa said indicating Anya, Lincoln, and Octavia.

“We’ll figure something out. But can I just clarify that there will be toe kicks under **all** the cabinets before you’re done?” Octavia questioned harshly using her foot to indicate the gap below the cabinet next to her. 

Clarke and the rest of her team froze, Anya’s eyes widened, and Lincoln dropped his head and chuckled quietly. Lexa turned to appraise the eager young newcomer directly. After a few tense moments she decided to put an end to this. “Lincoln!” She called out. He stepped forward and she turned towards him giving just a slight nod. He nodded back and left the room.

“Lexa, she just...” Clarke started.

Lexa raised a hand to stop Clarke from continuing. She was enjoying watching Clarke’s team squirm just a little. They shifted nervously not knowing exactly what was coming next. Lexa for her part waited patiently with a calm cool look on her face.

Lincoln returned from the garage carrying a large item covered in a drop cloth and presented it to Lexa. “Thank you, Lincoln,” she said as she reached to remove the fabric that was protecting the item underneath. Lexa noticed Clarke lean in slightly, undoubtedly anxious to see what was beneath. It was a simple but elegant form, measuring nearly 3ft wide, 20 inches deep, and 4 inches high. The front plate was the same Navy blue as the cabinets and was in fact the missing toe kick. Attached was a slim solid box of cabinet grade maple featuring dovetailed joints and four inset circles approximately 10inches in diameter.

“The purchasers of this project,” Lexa started coolly as she ran her fingers over the box, “are Steve and Margie Kline. They have four children and 12 grandchildren whom they love to spoil. They are retired professionals who have lived in this community their entire lives. They enjoy road biking, wineries, improv shows, and entertaining guests. But their true passion, is their four prize winning Welsh Corgis. They bought this property specifically for its proximity to the largest dog park in the county and wanted to make sure that their home was not only stylish but pet friendly. After discussing with the clients their daily routines and desires for the home we proposed several customizations to ensure the home met all their needs. Thus, we are providing them with an integrated feeding tray that will be housed below said cabinet with soft-close drawer glides. A foot operated push magnet release will ensure ease of use and seamless integration with the remaining cabinetry. So, **yes** there will be toe-kicks on **all** of the cabinets before we’re done. Any more questions?” Lexa asked as she continued to stare calmly at Octavia.

“No,” Octavia responded defiantly.

Lexa raised one eyebrow but said nothing else. She had made her point. As she turned away from Octavia Lexa noticed Clarke using a hand to cover her mouth. A stifled laugh danced below her hand and her face seemed to be a mix of embarrassment and entertainment. Lexa’s face softened almost imperceptibly and she quirked up a corner of her mouth giving Clarke a slight grin. Clarke dropped her hand revealing a wide smile. Lexa felt Clarke’s radiance wash over her in that moment. Her heart thumped loudly in her ears and she knew she had to regain control. Swallowing, she forced herself to tear her eyes away from the beautiful blonde and refocused on Lincoln while steadying her breath.

“Thank you, Lincoln. You may return that to the garage for safe keeping until you’re able to administer the final coat of sealant.”

Lincoln replaced the cloth and headed back to the garage. The rest of Clarke’s team took the opportunity to follow him out of the room waving quick goodbyes at Clarke as they went. Octavia rolled her eyes and turned on her heel, obviously wanting to put distance between herself and this current situation. 

Clarke, Lexa, and Anya were the only ones who remained in the kitchen now.

“Ok, I’m going to go check in with Luna to see how she’s coming along in the master bath.” Anya stated as she gathered some papers and her coffee mug to head upstairs. 

“Check in with her too about when she’ll be over to do the rough in plumbing at Tondeecee,” Lexa called after her.

Anya gave a small salute of confirmation as she left the room. Lexa turned back to Clarke who has was wincing slightly.

“Sorry about that,” Clarke said.

“I didn’t think we’d all be best friends right off the bat,” Lexa kidded in a flat tone.

“Maybe, we could start with just you and I being friends?” Clarke offered.

“Maybe,” Lexa said nonchalantly as she grabbed a set of plans and headed to the back deck.

Clarke followed not knowing whether she should be excited or offended at Lexa’s last comment.

Together they walked the house, Lexa describing various specifics along the way. Clarke for her part listened intently and only stopped to ask questions intermittently. Lexa enjoyed watching how Clarke’s mind worked, how she took in a room scanning the details, and by the end of their walk-through Lexa could tell when something had caught Clarke’s eye enough that an inevitable question would follow. They finished up in the kitchen again and Lexa returned the set of plans she had grabbed.

“So, I’m guessing you’ll want to hit Tondeecee next?” Lexa asked.

“That would be great, if you don’t mind.”

Lexa nodded. “Well, I guess I did kind of kidnap you this morning, it would seem rude to leave you stranded now.” 

Clarke smiled at that and Lexa felt her heart jump again as she smiled back. She reached the front door and held it open for Clarke. 

*****

Back in the truck they rode silently again as Clarke took in the expansive valley around them.

“So, who came up with that dog bowl idea?” asked Clarke suddenly.

Lexa glanced at Clarke but didn’t answer. She wondered how long the blonde had been rolling the question over in her mind.

“It was you, wasn’t it?” Clarke questioned.

Lexa raised one shoulder slightly and Clarke continued to stare at her. Lexa found herself flushing slightly under Clarke’s intense gaze.

“What?” Lexa questioned innocently.

“I’m just wondering what I’m even doing here?”

Lexa cocked her head raising an eyebrow toward Clarke.

“I know how to stay in my lane Clarke. If that’s what you’re worried about.”

“It just seems like you don’t really need a designer.”

“I don’t need a designer,” Lexa paused and grinned at Clarke then bowed her head slightly, “But Polis does.”

“Look Clarke, with your team here my company can focus on doing our job and I can focus my design interests elsewhere.”

Clarke reflected on that. Seemingly content with Lexa’s reassurance and simultaneously curious about her full meaning.

“Anywhere in particular?” she asked somewhat hesitantly worried that it might be too prying or personal of a question.

“I have some ideas in mind” Lexa said mysteriously and gave Clarke a sweet smile.

Clarke rolled her eyes at the lack of a true answer but couldn’t help but smile back. They continued the drive in comfortable silence.

******

As they pulled up to the long driveway off Tondeecee Drive they could see Bellamy sitting on a bolder at the edge of the property sketching in a notebook.

“What the hell is he doing?” Clarke asked somewhat rhetorically.

Lexa rolled her eyes, “I think I have an idea.” She lowered Clarke’s window and leaned over slightly.

“Hey!”

Bellamy looked up.

“Get in.” she commanded nodding toward the back seat.

He closed his notebook, picked up his bag, and slung it over his shoulder as he jogged to the truck.

“Thanks.” Bellamy said shutting the door behind him.

“Yeah, sorry about that” Lexa said knowingly as she continued down the long drive.

All three hopped out when they reached the build site. The large home sat perched on a bluff overlooking the bay. While it was technically a new build Lexa could remember the structure that had been here previously. As a child, she would sneak up the ravine on the east side of the property to get a better look at the home that stood like a castle with three round turrets and expansive manicured grounds. Over the years the property had sat vacant collecting dust and then just over a year ago the structure that had captivated her as a child had gone down in flames. While she showed no outward sign, her heart had soared when Polis informed her that they would be restoring the property. 

Suddenly, a tall woman came flying down the front steps eyebrows stitched in a glare.

“What the hell is he doing here? I told him to get off my site!” She demanded pointing at Bellamy who raised his hands and took a step backwards.

“Echo!” Lexa warned extending her fingers to an open hand just in front of her body.

“This is Clarke Griffin and Bellamy Blake. They are with the new design firm that Polis hired. They **will** have full access to our sites.” Lexa said raising her eyebrows at Echo then turning to fix Bellamy with a stare she continued, “and they’ll be sure **not** to get in the way of any of our work.”

Echo glared down at Bellamy, “Fine, but stay out of my way!” Then she turned and stomped back inside.

“You shouldn’t have any more problems,” Lexa stated to Bellamy as she watched Echo retreating up the stairs.

“Thanks” he said gruffly, “I’ll just get started out back.”

“Ready Clarke?” Lexa looked towards the blonde.

“Yeah.”

They ascended the steps to the roughed in front entrance.

“So, tell me about the inspiration on this one?” Clarke asked gazing up at the lines of the framing “It’s a really different style than the others I saw in my research into Polis.”

“It honors the history of the site,” Lexa noted simply.

Clarke furrowed her brow as she glanced over to Lexa who turned to meet her gaze for just a moment before continuing on into the building.

“It was first built in 1895 and took 3 years to complete. Some say this site is cursed because it burned down just 10 years after it was finished. It was eventually rebuilt but there’ve been 5 fires that have greatly damaged or even leveled this home over the years. The last one was a little over a year ago. Polis bought the property and I asked to take the lead on it.”

“You don’t think you’re tempting fate?” Clarke asked genuinely as they exited through the back doors and onto a terrace with a view of the bay.

“I’m always up for a challenge.” Lexa responded smoothly but with a slight smirk on her face.

“How did the fires start?” Clarke asked in her scratchy voice.

“Hard to know.”

“Do you ever get lightning storms here?” Clarke asked looking out over the bluff.

“From time to time.”

“Lightning doesn’t often strike water. If a storm rolled across the bay from the south this would be the first thing the lightning would be attracted to.” Clarke turned to look up at the back side of the house. “Have you thought about putting lighting rods at the top of the turrets? It might help keep this one standing a little longer.”

Lexa stared up considering this suggestion. Lightning wasn’t super common here but it really wasn’t a bad idea from a risk mitigation perspective. And if they used copper rods it would accent the turrets well and go with the copper downspouts and gutters she had planned for the exterior. Somewhat frustrated that she hadn’t already thought of this, Lexa relented, “I’ll talk to the electricians.”

“Maybe you’ll be able to shake that curse, huh?” Clarke joked bumping Lexa’s shoulder with her own.

Lexa rolled her eyes, trying to hide a grin spreading across her face, and headed back into the house.

Clarke laughed softly and followed.

“So, you based the design off of historical data?” Clarke asked once they entered what would eventually be the main foyer. Workers dotted the house and there was a constant sound of nailing coming from all directions.

“Yes, the exterior follows the historical footprint except for the addition of an atrium on the West side. The siding, trim details, and roof line are a bit of a mash up based on the photos and descriptions I could find of the various houses that have existed here over the years. The interior layout is updated to account for a more modern living style but I’ve kept components that honor the grand feel that this mansion would have elicited when it was originally constructed.”

They continued their exploration of the shell of the house with Lexa pointing out where things would eventually go or details that she intended to include to bring back some of the character of the turn of the century. Clarke had fewer questions this time around seeming to marvel at what all she was being shown and imagining the final look that Lexa was describing.

They finished in what would be the dining room which had a large framed opening where a wall of sliding doors would eventually open onto the back terrace. Echo entered from a doorway opposite them. “Lex?” Echo interrupted obviously wanting to speak with the contractor before she left.

Lexa nodded to Echo and then glanced to Clarke.

“I’ll go check in with Bellamy.” Clarke said pointing out towards the grounds.

******

Clarke stood towards the edge of the bluff gazing out over the bay. Lexa watched for a moment appreciating the way small strands of blonde hair flowed in the light breeze. She approached quietly from behind not wanting to disturb whatever thoughts Clarke might be having. She joined Clarke in silence letting her body take in the explosion of color and warmth as the sun dipped low in the sky across the calm bay waters. Lexa had lived here her whole life and had a story or memory for nearly every place they could see from this bluff. She had to admit there were times when she took it for granted, caught up in the business of the day, but standing here next to Clarke she felt like she was seeing it again for the first time.

“We’ve been in the desert so long I forgot what if felt like to live by the water.”

Lexa decided that Clarke wasn’t really looking for a response. So she just listened wondering what caused the sadness in Clarke’s eyes in this moment. She obviously carried the burden of her team and Lexa could relate to that but there was something more, something deeper that she could tell haunted Clarke.

“It really is beautiful,” Clarke marveled seemingly entranced by the view.

“It is,” Lexa agreed gazing at Clarke’s silhouette in the setting sunlight.

“I’m sorry,” Clarke said pulling her attention back to Lexa, “you’re probably ready to get going.”

“If you are,” Lexa responded quietly.

“Yeah, it’s been fun,” Clarke said somewhat sarcastically. “But I’ll be honest; I’m exhausted.”

Lexa saw the vulnerability and authenticity in Clarke’s eyes. She nodded and smiled understandingly.

"I'll take you back now."

"Thanks."

It was nearly dark, Lexa extended her hand to help Clarke find the two steps back to the main path then they walked together back across the expansive lawn. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some of this turned a bit cheesy but sometimes I think Lexa's bluntness is a bit cheesy!


	4. Night

Rain was pelting the window now, wipers moving furiously to clear the view. It was pitch black along the winding two lane road that danced along between the edge of the hillside and the ocean below. Clarke griped the door handle tight. Lexa wasn’t a bad driver by any means, but it was obvious she knew this road. She expected every turn and curve whereas Clarke felt like she was blindfolded on a roller coaster.

Finally, they turned off the road and up onto the dirt drive that lead back to their first site of the day and more importantly to Clarke’s Rover. Lexa slowed as she guided her truck up the switchbacks in the unrelenting rain.

As they made the final muddy turn a dark form seemingly materialized before them. The deer turned its head toward the lights but froze in the middle of the road.

“Shit!” Lexa gripped the wheel trying to avoid a collision and maintain control. She kept to the hill side of the road but the back end of her truck lost its grip in the mud at the sudden change in course. She worked the wheel and breaks slaloming back and forth a few times, but given their force, trajectory, and lack of grip there was little she could do. Before they impacted the side of the hill she released the wheel, extended a protective arm in front of Clarke, and raised her left arm to shield her face.

Tires spinning, a solid impact, loud crunch, and then all was silent except for the continued pounding of rain and the faint retreat of hooves in the brush. 

Clarke exhaled assessing the situation. She was fine, nothing bleeding, nothing broken. Her door and window were kissing the hillside so she knew there would be no escape that way but all in all she was impressed at Lexa’s ability to simply tuck them into the ditch rather than ramming the animal or sending them off the cliff on the other side. That’s when she noticed that Lexa was even quieter than normal.

“Lexa! Lexa!” Clarke reached out to feel for her in the dark cab, a sudden fear gripping her. Clarke clutched both of Lexa’s shoulders trying to elicit any response.

“Yeah,” came a quiet reply.

“Oh, thank god!” Clarke said as she exhaled her eyes searching Lexa’s face, still trying to adjust to the darkness. “Are you ok?”

“Fine” Lexa responded curtly. Her eyes were shut tightly and she was bleeding slightly from where her head had connected with the drivers side window.

“Why don’t I believe you?” Clarke wondered aloud, marveling at Lexa’s continued stubbornness. She pulled out her phone and turned on the flashlight as she reached for the glove compartment in front of her. After rummaging around for a moment, she found what she was looking for. Next she searched for the overhead light and flipped it on.

“Is it just your head?” Clarke asked as she worked to open the gauze packages out of the first aid kit she found in the glove compartment.

Lexa nodded slightly. “Yeah,” she replied with a bit more of her voice back now. Her eyes were still closed, and she leaned back against the headrest as if to stop the world from spinning.

“Ok,” Clarke had prepped what she would need on the center console in between them and eyed her patient. Knowing that she couldn’t treat the wound from where she was and not wanting Lexa to have to move more than she had to at this point, Clarke planned her next move carefully. She stretched her leg over the console and twisted her body to face Lexa. She came to rest with a knee on either side of Lexa’s wiry frame gently straddling her in her seat.

Lexa immediately squinted one eye open and gave a slight grin. “Can I help you Clarke?” She asked playfully as she arched an eyebrow.

“Well, I’m glad to know that your sense of humor wasn’t affected” quipped Clarke dryly as she gently used a gauze pad to place pressure to Lexa’s wound. The brunette watched as Clarke worked; taking antiseptic, fresh gauze, and medical tape to her wound.

Clarke smoothed out the ends of the tape finding her fingers tracing the angles of Lexa’s face. She couldn’t deny how striking the young contractor was and she felt herself being pulled towards her by some magnetic force. “All set,” She said as she took a breath and tried to regain her focus. She looked down into Lexa soft green eyes that were already gazing up at her. Lexa’s hands rested gently on her thighs, which felt on fire under the light touch. Clarke could feel her heart pounding and time seemed to slow down around her. She searched the speckled green of Lexa’s eyes unsure of what she was even looking for. Lexa held her gaze and it made Clarke’s heart beat even faster.

“Clarke.”

At the light sound of her name Clarke’s eyes were drawn down to the soft full lips loosely parted in front of her. Clarke couldn’t resist anymore; she gave in to the pull and leaned down until their lips met. Brushing softly first and then deepening their kiss as a rushing wave of warmth and exhilaration washed over her. One of Lexa’s hands moved to her waist sending sparks into her chest. Lexa’s soft skin, sweet taste, and intoxicating smell filled Clarke senses.

“I’m sorry” Clarke apologized suddenly leaning back as she realized what she had done. She reached for the door and fumbled out into the rain putting space between her and the lips she wanted so much more of. _Shit,_ _what had she done? She didn’t mean to. Lexa was a mystery to her, so different than anyone she had ever met. She couldn’t read below the calm confident demeanor to know if this was even something Lexa wanted. And she was injured, Clarke had basically straddled her with nowhere for Lexa to go. How unprofessional could she be!_ Nervously looking back into the cab, Lexa’s face was stoic but Clarke worried that maybe there was a hint of surprise and hurt below the cool facade. _Shit! She didn’t want to hurt Lexa, but she didn’t want to screw up their working relationship on the first day either._ Beyond flustered and confused Clarke stood frozen, fear gripping her tight.

“We should probably get going,” Lexa said calmly as she gingerly swung her legs out of the cab and stepped into the rain past Clarke.

Clarke exhaled lifting her face to the sky and closing her eyes tight as the droplets pelted her skin wishing it would wake her from this mess she had just made. Dropping her head, she began after Lexa who was trudging up the muddy drive towards the county road.

Clarke caught up to Lexa whose pace had noticeably slowed with her head bowed and eyes nearly shut.

“Are you ok?” Clarke asked placing a hand gently on Lexa’s shoulder to get her attention over the relentless rain.

Lexa simply grunted. Clarke knew Lexa was strong both physically and she didn’t doubt mentally too, but she couldn’t help but be concerned. And she hated the idea that she could be contributing to her pain. Just then Lexa stumbled in the mud barely a step ahead of her. Clarke reached out instinctively catching the thin frame before she fell.

“Ok, here we go,” Clarke said not waiting for Lexa to agree. She tucked her head under Lexa’s arm and gripped her waist supporting her weight as they continued their ascent. 

By the time they made it to the rover they were soaked to the bone but grateful to have some semblance of sanctuary in sight. Clarke helped Lexa around the right side and opened the passenger door. Lexa removed her arm from around Clarke’s neck and climbed inside. Clarke shut the door quickly wanting to keep the inside of the rover as dry as possible. With Lexa safely inside Clarke leaned against the rear door of the rover catching her breath and calming her emotions. She realized that her singular focus for the last 20 minutes had been to get Lexa somewhere safe. 

Refocusing herself Clarke pushed off the truck and moved around to the rear hatch. Clarke stripped her jacket off, tossed it in the back, and grabbed an old metal ammo box from behind the wheel well before darting to the driver’s door. Once inside she unlatched the lid of the box and pulled out two packages then turned to set the box down on the floor of the back seat. She pried open one packaged, unfurled a shiny space blanket, and handed it over to Lexa before opening her own and tucking it around her legs. Lexa didn’t respond but wrapped the crunchy material around her shoulders for warmth.

Clarke threw the rover into reverse and began to slowly back out onto the drive. Facing down the hill now her headlights provided much better views of the road ahead. She shifted into drive and began a cautious descent.

Having nearly reached the first hairpin Lexa piped up, “Alright, I think if you stop just before my rig then we can use your winch to pop my truck out of the ditch. Then I’ll go use the county road for a turn-around point.”

“Ha! That’s not happening,” Clarke said in a rough voice as she shook her head at the idea.

Lexa glared confused at Clarke.

“You’re not driving,” Clarke maintained.

“I’m fine!” Lexa insisted.

“Not a chance! Lexa, you have a concussion. And if you won’t let me take you to the clinic then I’m taking you straight home and making sure you’re alright. We’ve had enough adventures in the mud for one night.”

Clarke watched as Lexa inhaled deeply and closed her eyes tight, knowing that for Lexa the pain of being out of control probably rivaled that of the throbbing from her wound. Clarke reached out and placed a hand tenderly on Lexa’s forearm looking up into her pained face.

“Look, tomorrow is Saturday and I don’t have anywhere to be. So, how about we’ll come back up here and get your truck once you’re feeling a bit better. Okay?”

Lexa turned towards Clarke pinning her with those intense green eyes, then gave her the slightest nod before looking away out the window again.

Glad that Lexa hadn’t put up any more of a fight Clarke re-gripped the steering wheel and focused on getting them back to the main road safely.

*****

An hour later Clarke turned into an old neighborhood with tree lined streets and mostly craftsman style homes. The GPS directions that Lexa had entered suggested they were close.

“Just there on the left,” Lexa pointed to a large building with a front of windows that faced the street. Clarke was confused, it looked more like a large shop than a home. Lexa had fished her keys out of her pocket and pointed the clicker towards the building. One of the large front windows began to raise revealing a garage space with plenty of room for the rover. 

Clarke pulled in stopping where the garage transitioned into a workshop space with tools organized neatly. She cut the engine glancing around at the wood lap walls and tongue and groove ceiling that lined the garage. Lexa opened her door and started to slowly turn herself to exit the vehicle. Clarke hopped out and hurried to the other side of the car.

Lexa smiled shyly as Clarke rushed to her door and offered her hand to help Lexa out of the rover. Clarke melted slightly at the lightly curved lips and the show of appreciation. Lexa accepted her hand to step down and then continued on towards a door leading off of the garage. They crossed into a large living room with rich, wide plank wood floors. The tongue and groove ceilings continued from the garage and to the right was the large wall of windows facing the street with an oversized door in the middle. Exposed industrial ductwork ran along the 12 ft tall ceilings and the far wall sported rustic shiplap boards painted a cool light grey.

Clarke realized that she had stopped moving while taking in her new surroundings. Lexa had continued to one of the large couches and sat, immediately leaning her head all the way back into the cushion. Clarke moved to sit across from her on the coffee table.

“Okay, hey look at me,” Clarke directed as she began unlacing one of Lexa’s boots. Lexa’s eyes fluttered open again and focused on Clarke as she pulled the first boot off and began unlacing the second. “I’m going to be staying here with you tonight to wake you every two hours and make sure you aren’t having any worsening symptoms okay?”

Lexa’s eyes were soft as she looked at Clarke and she dipped her head slightly. Clarke took it to be an agreement.

“Alright, I think we should get you out of these wet clothes and get you some meds on board,” Clarke suggested standing to grab a throw blanket from the next couch over. 

Lexa unzipped her hoodie and tenderly pulled it off. “There is Ibuprofen in the far left cabinet in the kitchen,” Lexa directed, “and the laundry room is just there behind the barn door.” She pointed behind her with her thumb. “There should be some clothes in there, you can help yourself. If you could bring me a shirt and shorts that would be great.”

Clarke nodded, “Got it.”

Clarke walked towards the rustic barn door that led to the laundry room admiring the character of the wood and authenticity of the track system. She slid the door open gently and found neatly folded piles of clothes on a large butcher block countertop. Clarke fanned through a pile until she found what she needed and then returned to the doorway.

Lexa was pulling her long sleeve shirt over her head revealing sculpted shoulders and a simple black sports bra before her hair passed through the shirt and tumbled down her back in waves. Clarke swallowed and forced herself to move forward tossing the shirt and shorts on the couch next to Lexa then immediately turned to head for the kitchen. She opened the left cabinet and grabbed the bottle of pills. She glanced around the kitchen which had an industrial feel with its’ oversized stainless-steel appliances, but it was balanced with classic white shaker cabinets and warm wood tones in the form of two live edge shelves that ran the length of the far wall. Clarke pulled down a glass from the lower shelf and filled it with water before returning to the front living room.

She kneeled in front of Lexa handing her the water glass first then opening the bottle and pouring out two pills which she handed over. Lexa took a swig of water and Clarke continued to glance around the room as she swallowed the pills.

“It used to be the neighborhood dairy,” Lexa said drawing in Clarke’s attention and answering the question on her mind. “They bottled in the back and sold milk and ice cream from the storefront here until the mid 50s.”

“Seriously?” Clarke asked in surprise.

Lexa nodded. Clarke looked around the space again noticing the small details that indeed indicated the buildings previous life. While the space had strong elements of an industrial past Clarke had to admit that the furnishings and decorations softened and defined the room. It was unique and homey and at the same time, spacious and comfortable.

Clarke smiled and shook her head reminding herself to no longer be surprised by any building she entered with the stoic contractor. She turned back to Lexa, took the empty glass, and set it on the coffee table.

“Are you sure you’ll be comfortable here?” 

“Yeah,” Lexa replied shutting her eyes tight as she laid down and drew her feet up onto the couch. Clarke reached out and fixed the blanket, making sure it covered her feet and was pulled up tight around her shoulders.

“Night,” Clarke whispered.

******

_Tires screeched, the car skidded, a loud impact. Clarke’s mouth was dry and her heart racing. Dust clouded her vision. She grabbed the shoulders of the person next to her. His head slumped forward and blood pooled down his chest from the bullet wound._

Clarke gulped for air as she shot upright and another wave of panic hit her as she took in the unfamiliar surroundings.

“It’s ok," came a peaceful voice from behind her. "You're safe."

She whirled around to see Lexa sitting up casually on the other couch. Clarke took a deep breath remembering where she was now and trying to shake away the dream. She slowly put her feet on the floor and fully turned her body to face Lexa.

“How are you feeling?” Clarke managed in a raspy tone.

“Better,” Lexa answered.

She certainly looked better. In fact, she looked radiant sitting there so serenely; hair pulled loosely in front of her right shoulder and the blanket still draped around her legs that now rested on the coffee table.

“Good. I’m glad,” Clarke said rising from the couch and proceeding to the kitchen. “I should get you some more medicine.”

“Wait,” Lexa said calmly, moving to intercept Clarke as she rounded the coffee table. Lexa’s eyes were open and honest as she stepped in front of her, “I was wrong last night, Clarke, when I said I was fine.” She paused for a moment briefly glancing away, “Thank you for getting me here and staying to make sure I was ok.”

Clarke nodded but had no words.

Lexa gave a brief smile and a slight nod then turned towards the kitchen as well, “Coffee?”

“Sure,” Clarke answered.

******

The garage door opened and Clarke slowly backed the rover out over the sidewalk and onto the street.

“Lexa! Lexa!” Shouted a young teen running down the sidewalk toward them.

Lexa put a hand out towards Clarke for her to stop. She pulled the rover over to the curb as Lexa leaned out the window.

“I did it! I made the team!” He exclaimed breathlessly, coming to a stop just below Lexa.

Her face brightened and she beamed at the boy, “No surprise!”

“Lexa! Are you hurt?” He immediately shifted from elation to genuine concern pointing up to the bandage on her forehead.

“I’m fine Aden. Just a scratch,” she reassured him.

“Will we have training tomorrow?” He asked with enthusiasm and concern.

“Of course,” Lexa replied with the same beaming smile tousling the boys’ hair slightly. “Tell the others that we’ll meet here instead of the school.”

“Yes, Heda!” He responded with a smile plastered across his face. He waved as he turned and ran off in the opposite direction.

Lexa laughed to herself and shook her head as she watched the retreating boy with fondness.

“Friend of yours?” Clarke asked curiously.

Lexa turned to face Clarke locking her with her green eyes, quirked her lips, and nodded.

Clarke rolled her eyes at the lack of response and then laughed at herself for expecting anything more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to acknowledge that I realize current medical recommendations for concussion protocol no longer suggest an every 2 hour wake up but we are going to lean on the fiction part here and just go with it:) Also, Thanks for all the comments and kudos they certainly help keep me moving the story forward.


	5. someday

It didn’t take long at all for them to get the truck unstuck. Now they had the light of day, the rain had stopped, and the sun was out. It really only took a slight tug of the tow cable from Clarke’s rover to get Lexa’s truck moving out of the ditch. Lexa thanked Clarke for her assistance and then they caravanned back down to the main road. Clarke took a right back towards town. Lexa hesitated, then took a left instead.

After another few miles down the winding road Lexa pulled her truck into a lookout above the water. She rested her head on her hands, took a deep breath, and closed her eyes for a moment. Then she leaned back and looked out over the bay. Growing up here, the water had always helped to calm and ground her. But today it was a murky brown. The heavy rains yesterday had washed the silt and dirt from the lands down into the rivers and creeks that emptied into the bay. Only time and tides would bring back the rich dark blue waters.

*********

(one month later)

Clarke drove around the grand circle drive and parked. She grabbed the two cups of coffee and hopped out of the rover. Walking up to the front steps she noticed Bellamy, Nate, and Jackson working on the grounds to the west. She’d go check in with them once she talked with Lexa. She entered the front door and there was a steady hum of work coming from every direction. Glancing around she noticed Lincoln working in the room just next to where she stood in the foyer.

“Hey, Lincoln…” Clarke started as she moved into the room then stopped in surprise at the other person she found there. “Octavia?” Lincoln was stabilizing a rather tall ladder as Octavia took measurements from the top.

“Hi Clarke,” Octavia replied as she jotted down the latest measurement in her notebook. “I just needed to finalize some measurements before I put orders in this week. And I brought some samples to test out with the natural lighting in the kitchen.”

“Ok,” Clarke nodded not surprised to see the two working together. She was glad that her team seemed to be transitioning well. “Have you guys seen Lexa? I need to check in with her about a few things?” She tried to keep her voice sounding casual even though just the sound of Lexa’s name made her heart flutter.

“Yeah, she’s working on the subfloor in the solarium.” Lincoln responded still clutching the ladder.

“Thanks,” Clarke replied as she looked up to her friend. “Well good luck with those measurements,” she said sarcastically raising her eyebrows at Octavia who gave Clarke a warning glare with a wide smile.

She headed towards the solarium shaking her head and laughing to herself as she left the pair. As she moved through the house, she marveled at how much work had been done here at Tondeecee in the last month. She recalled the first time Lexa had brought her here. _What a day that had been!_

She stepped into the doorway of the solarium and watched for a moment as Lexa laid a new piece of subflooring kicking it into place. Then she dropped to her knees and swiftly pulled nails out of a pouch on her tool belt. The first swing of her hammer tapped the nail into place then she removed her hand from the nail and used two swift powerful swings to drive the nail flush. As she finished the second drive swing with her right hand her left hand had already moved eight inches down the board and had a nail set at the ready. She moved with grace, efficiency, and focus. Clarke hesitated, not wanting to interrupt her rhythm. She waited until Lexa had finished nailing that section and rose to grab the next sheet of plywood subfloor.

“Actually working today, huh?” Clarke joked.

Lexa startled, looking up and smiling at the blonde in the doorway. “You’ve never seen me work, Clarke,” Lexa replied as if this wasn’t **real** work but instead a minor exercise for pure entertainment.

Clarke smiled then crossed the room over to Lexa and offered up the coffee.

“Can I talk to you about something?” Clarke asked.

Lexa nodded taking a sip of her coffee.

Suddenly, a noise from the doorway drew both of their attention.

“Hey Lex, what do you want us to do about…” Anya and Echo stopped just inside the solarium.

“Oh sorry,” Echo said quickly, “we didn’t realize…”

“Is that coffee from Niylah’s again?” Anya interrupted with a devilish smile on her face.

“Again? You’ve been to Niylah’s?” Echo asked harshly, “When? And you knew about this and didn’t tell me?” Echo continued, shoving Anya slightly.

“Leave us.” Lexa commanded giving a flick of her hand.

The two looked at each other then nodded at Lexa before turning to leave the room.

\-------------

“What the hell?” Echo swatted Anya’s arm again as they walked away from the solarium. “Tell me Lexa is **not** communicating with that lying bitch!”

“I don’t think so,” Anya replied. “I asked last time if Niylah had heard form her and Lex said that it didn’t come up. Honestly, I think it’s a good sign. Like, maybe she’s actually starting to move on. And maybe this new design crew isn’t such bad news either?”

“Maybe,” Echo grumbled.

“I’ll go have the crew start drywalling in the garage until we can get Lexa’s decision on this.” Anya said indicating the plans in her hands.

“Sounds good. I’ve gotta take care of something real quick then I’ll meet you over there.” Echo said as she peeled off towards the front foyer.

Echo marched to her truck and grabbed an empty orange water cooler from the bed. Returning towards the house she spotted a crew working on the exterior window trim. “Ilian, come give me a hand for a second.”

After stopping at a spigot Echo marched towards the grounds crew, Ilian following close behind with the now full cooler.

“There,” Echo instructed to Ilian as she pointed to an old stump.

Bellamy looked up and rested his arm lightly on his shovel while catching his breath. Ilian set the cooler down, Echo gave him a quick nod and he turned to continue back to the main house.

“Thank you.” Bellamy said with a slight surprise in his voice.

“I just didn’t want your crew dragging your muddy boots through the house” Echo responded severely.

Bellamy laughed slightly and hung his head, “Ok, well thank you still.”

“What are you doing?” She questioned now observing the piles of dirt and large rocks scattered about.

Bellamy glanced around noting the chaotic scene. “Well we’re prepping these areas for raised beds to plant a privacy screen along this edge of the property, but we keep digging up these giant stones. It makes for slow work but actually I’m excited because I think that I’ll be able to reuse them. I’d like to do a large-scale sundial over there at the edge of the bluff. I’m just worried we might not have quite enough stones for that,” he mused.

Echo surveyed the scene glancing from Bellamy to the stones and back again, “There’s an abandoned quarry about half a mile from here. If you need more stones, I can take you there. We should be able to find what you’re looking for.”

“Thank you” Bellamy said again even more surprise in his voice this time.

“Well it doesn’t do anybody any good to have half of a sundial.” Echo huffed and then turned back to the house.

Bellamy leaned down, grabbed a paper cup and filled it with water. He drank slowly as he watched Echo cross the expansive lawns, trying to figure out whether he liked or loathed her intense character. 

\---------------

“Ok, what the hell is the story with Niylah?” Clarke insisted, crossing her arms as Lexa turned back to face her, “They start acting really weird every time she comes up.”

Lexa took a deep breath and Clarke started to worry that maybe she’d pushed too far.

“I lost someone close to me,” Lexa started. “Her name was Costia. She worked for one of my subcontractors, Azgeda Construction. A few years ago, Azgeda tried to usurp me and take over the Polis contracts. They failed and completely tarnished their name in this community so they were forced to move their work to east of the mountains. Costia went with them, she didn’t even try to fight for our relationship. Then I found out that she had been having an affair with their owner, Nia, and had been feeding her info about my company and our contracts. Niylah was Costia’s friend and we all were close when Costia and I were dating. I hadn’t really seen Niylah since then, until that day that we stopped by.”

“Lexa, I’m so sorry,” Clarke reached out and placed a comforting hand on Lexa’s forearm.

“It was a really painful time and I think they are just looking out for me,” Lexa said jutting her thumb over her shoulder to where Echo and Anya had left. “Niylah’s a good person. Honestly, I think that she was pissed at the way that Costia acted as well. I just hadn’t brought myself to visit her yet. I thought it would bring back too many memories.”

They both stared into their coffee thinking about the past.

After a moment Lexa inhaled quickly, looking back up to Clarke and once again her face was cool and calm. 

“You had something you wanted to ask about?” Lexa said taking a sip of the coffee.

“Yeah, um, have you heard any rumblings that Polis might be going under? Something about a bad investment in some app called Mount Weather?”

“I’ve heard rumors about something like that but nothing from Polis directly,” Lexa answered.

“Hmm.”

“Hey, once I finish this I was going to go check in at the build on Rockburn Ridge.” Lexa said setting her coffee down and picking up her hammer again, “They’ve almost finished framing and I thought you might like to see what the view’s like from the second-floor balcony after your changes to the plans.”

“Yeah, I’d love to. Hold on,” she paused looking directly at Lexa, “is there any rain in the forecast? Because that got a little dicey last time.” She immediately broke into a smile letting Lexa know she was only teasing.

Lexa raised an eyebrow gripped her hammer and while maintaining eye contact with Clarke swung hard at the nail she had just placed, effectively ending the conversation.

Clarke smiled and raised her hands in surrender. “I’m going to go check in with Bellamy. Just come find me when you’re ready.”

******

“Feel free to head on up,” Lexa said pointing to the stairs as they entered the Rockburn house, “I have to grab something, but I’ll be right behind you.” 

“Gorgeous, right?” Lexa said as she walked towards Clarke from the top of the stairs.

From behind all Lexa could see was Clarke nod her head, but she heard a sniffle and could feel something off in the air.

“Clarke, are you alright?” Lexa asked placing a hand on her shoulder and coming around to see tears streaking down the blonde’s face. “Clarke, what’s the matter?” Lexa’s searched the stormy blue eyes in front of her, trying to understand.

“I’m sorry. It’s nothing” She said furiously wiping her face with her sleeves.

“Clarke?”

Clarke shrugged her shoulders, “It just, it reminds me of my dad. He grew up in those islands and I remember him telling me stories about it. He told me about how when he was a kid he would steal the neighbor’s little dingy and go from island to island just exploring.” Clarke smiled at the memory and looked at Lexa whose eyes were full of confusion, concern and empathy.

“He died about six months ago,” Clarke continued. “He was an engineer and worked as an independent contractor for the government. He transferred to the middle east to be closer to me when I was posted over there with Ark. But he stumbled upon something that he wasn’t supposed to see. My mom tried to tell him to leave it alone, but he thought that he could help people by exposing it. One day when he came to visit me in the city where I was working, he was assassinated sitting right next to me in the car.”

Lexa winced at her last words seeing the pain in Clarke’s eyes and wishing that she could absorb some of that hurt for her.

“He just would’ve been so excited that I got to come here,” Clarke said smiling. She inhaled sharply and wiped a final tear from her cheek, “He always wanted me to be able to have a chance to see where he grew up. It feels like I can see it all from up here.”

Lexa smiled back at Clarke and then stood next to her admiring the expansive views of the islands below. Then she opened the case she had grabbed from downstairs and handed over the pair of binoculars. Clarke smiled, her face full of glee as she grabbed them and started scanning the water below. They stood in silence for several minutes as Clarke explored the landscape.

“Do you remember the first time we saw this view?” asked Clarke smiling, finally looking up at Lexa from the binoculars. 

“I do.” Lexa responded gently.

“I kind of thought you were going to kill me when I came down from that tree” Clarke said laughing.

“I thought about it,” Lexa teased arching an eyebrow. After a moment she added, “I’m glad that I didn’t.”

“Me too.”

Lexa chuckled. “Come on, there are some folks I want you to meet,” Lexa said leading Clarke back towards the stairs.

*********

“Clarke, this is Roan and Gustus,” Lexa introduced. “They lead our framing crew. I don’t think you’ve had a chance to meet yet.”

Clarke nodded hello as she shook both hands.

“So, how are you and your team settling in?” Roan asked.

“Yeah, fine.” Clarke replied. “It is quite a change from where we were before but it’s nice. Honestly, we’ve mostly spent this past month just getting set up. I don’t know that anybody’s had a chance to get to know the city or the area very well yet.”

“You should join us tonight, Clarke.” Lexa interjected. “We’re going to The Temple Bar to celebrate Anya’s birthday. You and your crew should come.”

“Thank you. I’ll let them know. I’m sure at least some of them would love a night out.”

“Are you two coming?” Lexa asked, addressing Roan and Gustus.

“We wish we could” Gustus said with regret. 

“Yeah, but the twins are teething,” Roan added.

Gustus nodded. “Yep, us poppa bears are headed straight home,” he said clapping an arm around Roan’s shoulder. “We’re going to see if we can actually get some sleep tonight.”

Lexa smiled, “Give them my love.”

“Always,” Gustus replied.

Lexa nodded at the men, then turned to Clarke, “Ready?”

Clarke nodded and followed Lexa outside. As they neared the truck curiosity overcame Clarke, “Hey Lex?”

“Hmm?” Lexa responded as she opened her door and began to pull herself in.

Clarke rounded the front end of the truck and plopped in her seat, “Do you want kids someday?”

Lexa glanced at Clarke and smiled briefly then she turned the key to start the engine. “Someday.”


	6. The Temple Bar

The inside of the bar was dim and it took a moment for their eyes to adjust. Raven had been thrilled to hear about any excuse to get out of the cold sterile office space she’d been working out of for the past month. So much so that she insisted on calling work off early and heading straight over to hit happy hour before the others arrived. Clarke had been somewhat reluctant. Her crew hadn’t had a night out in several months and she was fairly certain that in her role as unofficial “den mother” it was going to be a long night. But Raven was so excited, that she had given in and agreed to head over early.

Their building, which Ark had rented the entirety of sight unseen, contained their design offices on the ground floor and the crew lived in the several apartments above. It was almost ironic that they all worked in the design field and yet had to live and work in a 1980s stark and sterile environment. However, they were all relatively numb to it. As a survival mechanism they had learned not to get too attached to anything because Ark would move them at the drop of a hat.

The one thing that the building had going for it was location. Clarke and Raven had made the walk in less than 5 minutes and Clarke was grateful that she wouldn’t have to worry about anybody needing a ride.

Having taken a glance around the low-key establishment, Raven had made her decision and b-lined directly for two stools at the bar. Clarke smiled at Raven’s enthusiasm and followed.

“Finally! A real bar with real options! Do you know how long it’s been since I’ve seen this many types of alcohol all in one place!” Raven gushed as she surveyed the shelves of liquor stocked behind the bar. “Is that a Glenfiddich 21 right there on the first shelf! My god I think we’ve died and gone to heaven Clarke!”

“Wow, Rae, I guess I really need to get you out more!” Clarke teased as her friend continued to debate which scotch to start with.

“I know, I know. I’m sorry,” Raven took a deep breath and moved her hands in front of her as if to center herself. “Seriously though I’m glad you came out early with me. We haven’t got to hang out one on one since we got here. We need a _moving halfway across the world_ debrief!”

Their new building along with being boring was also much larger than their last placement, so as the team leader Clarke had been given her own apartment. Previously Clarke, Raven, and Octavia had all been roommates. They had often stayed up late into the night with a bottle of wine. While Clarke loved having her own space, she did miss that feeling of connection with her best friends.

“Sounds like a plan,” Clarke said catching the bartender’s eye to place her order.

“I invited O but she said she had to ‘get ready’. I don’t know who she thinks she needs to get ready for but she’s missing out.” Raven insited.

“Oh I have a pretty good idea who she’s getting ready for,” Clarke smiled.

“What!” Raven responded indignantly, “All we’ve done this past month is work and sleep. Where could she possibly have met someone?”

“Well while you have been at the office working to catch up the design schematics for all of these projects, Octavia has been a bit more hands-on at the job sites. Let’s just say I wouldn’t be surprised to see her and a certain carpenter getting to know each other better tonight.” Clarke said mischievously.

“Wow!” Raven paused a moment letting this new information sink in. “Well good for her! But I’m totally going to give her shit about needing extra time to get ready.”

“I would be worried if you didn’t,” Clarke replied.

They both took a sip of their recently delivered drinks.

“What about you? How are you transitioning?” Clarke asked. This team was her family and she knew from past experiences that these kinds of quick and drastic transitions could be rough. She saw it as part of her job as a team leader but even more so as a friend to make sure that everyone was acclimating well.

“I’m good. My computers love how much less dust there is here!”

Clarke smiled deeply appreciating Raven’s never-ending positive attitude. “I feel like we’re getting to the point where we just about have the backlog all caught up and so can start working a more normal schedule. I know we’ve got to get you out of that horribly depressing building more often.”

“Yeah, that would be nice. Actually, I do feel like I finally have all the design accounts to a really good place with systems set up and all the pieces in place. So, I’m excited to get the chance to explore the area a bit more and maybe try some new water sports.”

“That sounds like a great idea! Just let me know and I’ll have Ark get us any equipment you need.”

“And how’s it been for you?” Raven asked turning the tables on Clarke. “How’s it been getting started with this new contracting company?”

Clarke nodded and took a deep breath. “Good. Yeah, it’s been good. I mean always an adjustment, but I have to say that I’ve learned a lot.”

“Oh, have you?” Raven said sarcastically.

“What?”

Raven raised an eyebrow, “Clarke, you hate working with new contractors.”

“Well, yeah they’re usually chauvinistic assholes who don’t take half a second to consider the aesthetic implications of their decisions,” Clarke replied quickly and then took a quick swig of her drink. “So, yeah, it has been nice to work with someone who actually seems to care, who factors in the overall design, functionality, and practicality at every step of the way. I’ve seen her work and I’ll admit that she has ideas that push the boundaries. It feels like it’s been a long time since my concepts of design have been challenged in that way.”

“And she’s hot,” Raven added.

“Okay stop,” Clarke said rolling her eyes.

Raven laughed out loud and Clarke tried her best but simply couldn’t hide the smile and slight blush that was taking over her face.

“Okay fine she’s incredibly gorgeous but it’s not a good idea and you know it,” Clarke insisted.

“Why not!”

“Because Ark could move us at any moment. It’s just not worth getting caught up in anything that’ll make it harder when that time comes.”

“Clarke, I love you, but you’re killing me!” Raven said closing her eyes and massaging her temples. “Look, Ark doesn’t own you! They don’t own any of us no matter how much it feels like it. And you can’t use them or this job as an excuse to stop living your life.”

Clarke stared into her glass not wanting to make eye contact, knowing that there was truth in what she said. She mindlessly ran a finger around the rim of her glass quietly considering her friend’s words.

Raven’s face softened and she continued, “I know that Finn was one of the first designers on your team and that it was hard to lose him two stops ago and then your Dad on this last assignment…”

“Yeah, I’m starting to feel like the commander of death. Like everywhere I go a darkness follows and so maybe that’s part of it. We’re in a new place and I feel like I’m just waiting for the other shoe to drop.”

“Again, I love ya, but you aren’t that powerful. You don’t control darkness but more importantly, you can’t live in fear.” Raven reached over and grabbed her friend’s hand and gave a reassuring squeeze. “Besides how often are you going to find someone who looks like that and makes your mind go all atwitter about innovative design conceptualization?” Raven teased.

Clarke rolled her eyes again and broke into a smile. “Okay enough! What about you? Anything I should keep my eye out for tonight?”

“Oh, pssh, I’m married to my computers. It’s a very intimate and complex relationship you wouldn’t understand.” Raven held a straight face for another beat and then both women broke into laughter.

******

There was a loud creak and whoosh of air as the bar door opened, both women turned to see a group of familiar faces entering. Clarke’s eyes found Lexa immediately among the group and she felt a flutter in her stomach when the green eyes caught hers. Lexa started walking towards them, Clarke felt a light kick from Raven and hoped that her friend wouldn’t feel the need to _‘help’_ in any way.

“Clarke, Raven,” Lexa nodded a hello as she placed one hand on the bar and one hand on the back of Clarke’s stool. “I’m glad you were able to make it.”

“Lexa!” the bartender had just returned from grabbing an order in the kitchen.

“Mave” Lexa said shaking the bartender’s hand.

The door opened again and Clarke saw that most of her crew had found the place. Suddenly the relatively small bar was filled by the combination of the two crews. 

“Is it ready?” Lexa asked Mave.

“It’s all yours. Make yourselves at home and I’ll be over in a minute.”

“Thank you, and they’re with us.” Lexa replied pointing to Raven and Clarke.

The bartender nodded in understanding.

“Come sit with us,” Lexa instructed walking to a spot on the wall draped by heavy curtains. Clarke nodded as Lexa pulled the curtains to the side to reveal an opening to a second space. Their large group that had gathered in bar took Lexa’s invitation and started to pass into the private room.

Looking back at the bartender and indicating their drinks Clarke asked, “Can we pay for these before we move over?”

The bartender looked at Clarke and shook her head as she muddled some fresh strawberries. “Go,” she said nodding towards the next room over. Clarke and Raven looked at one another and then hopped off their stools to joint their friends. Bellamy, Nate, Jackson, Harper, and Monty brought up the rear of the group filing into the next room.

“Hey guys” Clarke said as her and Raven approached.

“You sure this isn’t a trap or something” Monty joked nodding to the room they were about to enter.

“Monty, please!” Harper said exasperatedly rolling her eyes. “You’ve been watching way too many spy thrillers.”

Echo appeared from the back hallway and arrived at the entrance at the same time as Bellamy, “I guess they invited just about anybody.”

“And here I thought you just couldn’t get enough of me” Bellamy replied playfully.

“Echo,” Lexa said in a warning tone still standing in the doorway to the next room. “Play nice.”

Echo huffed and knocked past Bellamy to join the others. The front door creaked again with a whoosh of cold air. Octavia entered as the door was held open for her, she waited a pause and then Lincoln was at her side their fingers interlacing naturally as they moved further into the bar.

Lexa, who continued to hold the curtain open, looked to Clarke and raised her eyebrows as if to say: _at least somebody’s getting along_.

“Enter,” Lexa commanded drawing everyone’s attention back from the approaching forms of Octavia and Lincoln. “We have the whole room, so make yourselves comfortable and the first round is on me.”

“Thank you.” Clarke replied prodding Bellamy, who still stood gaping at Octavia.

“Yeah, thanks for finally convincing Clarke to take a night off!” Raven added as they passed Lexa who simply nodded.

The second room was a mirror image of the main bar. Still dimly lit with rich dark walls but the high ceilings in the historic building gave the room an open feel. There were several clusters of tables throughout the space, a dart board towards the back, and a full bar directly across from the entrance.

Everyone found a seat as Mave started making the rounds to take orders.

*****

“Lexa! You gotta help me!” Clarke said desperately as she came up behind Lexa who was standing at the bar with Echo ordering another drink. Lexa turned around and Clarke opened her hand which held four blue darts. She pointed her thumb behind her to the dartboard and continued, “they are killing us over there, and this is our last shot!”

Lexa chuckled and shook her head. She was glad that it seemed like Clarke and her crew were relaxing a bit and enjoying themselves.

“It’s stupid, I know! But if Octavia and Lincoln win again I will seriously never hear the end of it and Bellamy is literally no help at all!”

“Well there’s a shocker!” Echo chimed in.

Lexa turned slightly to give Echo a glare then turned back to Clarke. The blue eyes looked up at her and searched her face pleading playfully. She glanced over at the dart board seeing that Octavia and Lincoln had just finished their round and had done relatively well. Octavia pulled their red darts from the board and retuned to Lincoln greeting him with an excited kiss. Lexa grinned and held out her hand to Clarke for the darts.

“Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!” Clarke said as she dropped the darts in Lexa’s hand.

Lexa took a step away from the bar and threw all four darts in quick succession. The look of surprise on Clarke’s face was priceless. Her eyes were wide, and her mouth hung open slightly. She stared at Lexa and then squinted across the room confirming that all four darts had in fact been embedded in the inner ring. Octavia began immediately arguing the validity with Bellamy as Lincoln chuckled and raised a glass to Lexa across the room.

“Now that that’s over, join us for a drink?” Lexa asked coolly.

Clarke mumbled in reply and followed to a cluster of tables at a large long booth.

“Everyone this is Clarke. Clarke you know Anya and Indra. And this is Indra’s daughter Gaia.

“Lexa, when are you coming to my office? We need to talk.” Gaia inquired.

“Gaia!” Indra warned with a growl.

“It’s a smart move and she should at least hear the details.” Gaia argued.

Clarke gave Lexa a questioning look. As the others continued to debate, Lexa leaned over to explain.

“Gaia believes that she has a business proposition that I should consider.”

“Should you?” Clarke asked.

“It’s….unconventional.”

Clarke laughed slightly. “From what I’ve seen, everything you do is unconventional! I can’t imagine you doing anything _standard_. Seriously, I’ve seen more innovative and creative designs and contracting practices here with you in the last month than I have in the last 10 years combined.”

Lexa smiled shyly and dropped her gaze.

“I’m just not sure if it’s an added challenge that my company can handle right now. I have to protect my people.” Lexa reflected.

Clarke kept her raspy voice low but leaned closer so Lexa could hear her over the din of the room. “You know, Christine de Pizan once wrote that _when fine gold is tested in the furnace, it does not change or vary in strength but becomes purer the more it is hammered and handled in different ways._ Maybe, this is just a new way of handling things?” Clarke offered.

“Maybe,” Lexa said as she stared back at Clarke. Her golden hair framed her face and Lexa felt herself getting lost again in those stormy blue eyes.

******

The evening had died down, it was close to midnight and the group was starting to disperse. Octavia, Lincoln, Anya, Gaia, Raven, Harper, and Monty decided to head out dancing while everyone else said their goodbyes.

“Thanks again for inviting us. I think they all had a really good time.” Clarke said smiling at their friends heading loudly and merrily down the sidewalk towards the next bar.

Lexa nodded.

“Okay well, I guess I’ll see you on site next week.” Clarke said pulling the collar of her coat up to brace against the cold.

Lexa nodded again.

Clarke smiled and then turned to start the short walk to her building.

Lexa reached out and touched Clarke’s hand, “Clarke, wait.” It was barely a whisper, more of a request than a demand. Clarke turned around, keeping her hand in contact with Lexa’s. “Walk with me? I’d like to show you something.”


	7. Night Walk

They walked away from the bar and away from the brightness of downtown. The streets got less populated and there was a peaceful quietness to the night. The women both had their hands tucked in their coat pockets to avoid the chill in the air. They walked close together partially for warmth and as they talked their shoulders would brush against one another from time to time.

Clarke started to wonder where they were headed. They had traveled about ten blocks so far but Clarke wasn’t yet familiar with this part of town. It was quiet and dark and an unfamiliar setting and at any other time Clarke might have started to feel uncomfortable. However, for reasons she couldn’t quite understand, she trusted Lexa. So, she just enjoyed the walking tour, listening to Lexa’s narrations about the locations they passed and a history of the buildings. The woman had a way of making her feel excited and at ease all at the same time.

After another few blocks, they stopped on a corner.

“This is what I wanted to show you,” Lexa said nodding to the building across the street.

Clarke gazed up at the large two-story brick building.

“It’s one of my favorite buildings in town,” Lexa continued.

There were large shrubs that had overgrown and obscured most of the building, but Clarke could see that underneath it had a simplistic but historic charm. A beautiful center staircase made from granite steps lead to oversized oak doors. Large sandstone blocks created the foundation and carved out headers above the windows. Clarke glanced at Lexa who was staring up at the building. The moonlight cut across her face and Clarke thought she looked quite peaceful.

“It’s beautiful,” Clarke responded. “What is it?”

“Just storage now. But it used to be a school,” replied Lexa.

“Come on,” She instructed as she grabbed Clarke’s hand and pulled her along the side of the building. They came to a back door that appeared to lead into some sort of atrium. Lexa peered inside the dusty window as she jimmied the locked handle.

“Lexa, what are you doing?”

She turned back around, “May I?” Lexa asked as she reached up towards Clarke.

Clarke gave a confused look but didn’t make any attempts to stop Lexa who continued to reach up and removed one of the bobby pins holding back her bangs. The feel of Lexa’s fingers made her breath catch and she felt herself going somewhat weak in the knees as Lexa placed the bobby pin in her mouth and used her teeth to remove the plastic tip. Then Lexa pulled out a pocketknife and turned back to kneel in front of the door.

“Wait! Lexa, what the hell are you doing?” Clarke whispered trying to shake off the intoxicating trance of watching Lexa work at the lock mechanism.

Lexa turned her head to look back up at Clarke and smiled before returning her attention to the handle and responding casually, “Forgot my keys.”

“What?” Clarke furrowed her brow, annoyed that Lexa was being so flippant. She glanced down the street in both directions to make sure no one was coming, then took a step closer to Lexa and hoped that her long dark coat would mostly cover Lexa’s actions. She also hoped to hell that Lexa knew what she was doing. At that moment the lock popped, Lexa turned the handle and held the door open for Clarke with a smile.

Clarke pushed Lexa through the door, quickly shutting it behind them and then rounded on Lexa.

“What are you doing? Trying to add breaking and entering to your resume? Or is this just what you do for fun on a Friday night?” Clarke said furiously.

Lexa laughed.

“I’m serious!” Clarke insisted.

“I know,” Lexa said, her face calm and her gaze intense. “So am I, and I wasn’t lying to you earlier.”

“huh?” Clarke shook her head in confusion.

“I really did forget my keys.”

“What?” Clarke said exasperatedly.

Lexa glanced around the room and Clarke followed her gaze. It was dusty and stacked with old desks, chairs, and file cabinets. But the night sky was filtering through the multi-paneled windows and gave the room a mystical feel. The tall brunette rotated her hand in a circle indicating the space around her, “I own it. But I didn’t have the keys on me so while it might still be breaking and entering, it certainly isn’t trespassing,” She leaned closer to Clarke and grinned, “and I promise not to press charges.”

“ugh!” Clarke rolled her eyes then spun away from Lexa and crossed her arms. She shook her head in annoyance, trying to regain control after how flustered she had become.

“Look, Clarke you asked me earlier if I’d heard anything about Polis being in trouble.”

Clarke gave a sideways glance towards the woman.

“It’s not good, Clarke. My sources say it’s maybe two weeks before they’re totally out of money….”

Clarke could feel the rhythmic pounding in her chest and then a throbbing pounding in her head. It was happening. Ark would order them to pack up and move on to the next job in no time.

“….The leaders have all activated their escape plans and will be long gone with their shares by the time word gets out. The company has projects going across the globe and hundreds of lines of credit with local suppliers…..”

Clarke tried to take a breath in but felt like she’d been kicked in the stomach.

“…They won’t be able to pay out and the work at all of their projects will come to a halt almost immediately. Now they do have…..”

Lexa’s words became muffled as Clarke’s brain became clouded. She bent over resting her hands on her knees trying to get air into her lungs. Everything was constricting; her chest, her throat, her vision.

“Clarke!” Lexa said in a calm but direct voice. She had moved to crouched in front of her, “Look at me. We’re going to take some deep breaths. We are going to stand up, and take some deep breaths together, ok?” Lexa instructed as she held Clarke by the shoulders and raised them both to a standing position.

“You’re safe Clarke. I’m right here with you and this will pass.” Lexa said as she gripped Clarke’s forearms supporting her slightly below the elbows and trying to get Clarke’s eyes to focus on her own.

“We’re going to breath in, two, three, four, and out, two, three, four” Lexa chanted as she tapped the count with her fingers against Clark’s arms. “Good! Again.” She instructed keeping her eyes locked on Clarke. “In” tap, tap, tap. “Out” tap, tap, tap. Lexa quieted but continued taping and taking long even breaths with the blond.

After a time Clarke noticed that her breathing was becoming more regular and her eyes were beginning to refocus. She blinked and finally locked eyes with Lexa. They held eye contact for a moment then Clarke closed her eyes and leaned her head forward to rest on Lexa’s shoulder. While the immediate fear and anxiety had subsided, she now felt utterly exhausted.

Lexa wrapped her arms around the small blonde and continued the gentle tapping pattern on her back. Clarke’s arms encircled Lexa’s waist and she continued to breath deeply. The contact helped to ground her and regain control of her breathing and her heart rate.

They stood together in the silence for several more minutes the only sound and movement that of Lexa’s light taps.

“I’m sorry.” Clarke inhaled deeply and pulled herself away. “I just knew something like this would happen. I knew Ark was going to ship us out of here. And I don’t want to. I’m sick of it. Sick of moving, sick of being out of control, sick of being a pawn in their game. I like it here and my team likes it here and I don’t want to have to go to them and pretend like I’m ok with this,” Clarke said exhaling deeply and resting her face in her hands.

A moment passed in silence.

“Come with me” Lexa said quietly.

They weaved their way through the stacks and as they moved Clarke realized that this must have been a gym. The floors were a classic 2-inch maple hardwood and there was a rusty basket at the end of the room. Lexa led her through a door just below the basket and guided her up a set of steps to the main hallway. The ceilings were tall and the hallway was wide and Clarke could imagine flocks of kids scurrying through. They passed several old classroom doors each a half light style with glass on the top and a classroom number stenciled in the middle.

Finally, Lexa turned into classroom 119. It was a large room with exposed brick on the exterior wall and many obvious renovations over the years. There was industrial carpet and plastic cove baseboard molding but there were several original aspects that made the space ooze with character.

Lexa moved slowly around the room and then knelt down towards the back corner. She ran her hand slowly against the sandstone sill below the outer window and gazed at the brick wall. Clarke watched her movements unsure of what she was doing but also feeling like she shouldn’t interrupt the moment. Lexa stood and turned back towards Clarke.

“This is how I knew I wanted to be a builder,” Lexa said leaning against the sill.

Clarke cocked her head and furrowed her brow.

Lexa smiled, “I went to school here, before they closed it. I transferred in the second grade and I sat at a desk right here.” Lexa said indicating the space next to the window. “I would trace this stone and imagine how they cut it to be just this shape for just this purpose. And I would study the brick and try to imagine how they put it all together.”

“Clarke, I’ve anticipated for a while that Polis was trying to outrun a disaster of their own making. It was never my dream to work for them anyways. I’ve always wanted to be able to pick my own projects and do work with my crew that inspired and excited us. And this is one of those projects.”

“How?”

“Well I’ve been working towards it for a long time. I’ve done some work trades with the School District who owned the building and then when they were ready to move the last of their offices out of this building, I bought it.”

“What are you going to do with it?”

“When I was a kid and I really didn’t want to go home I’d imagine just staying at school instead. And while I was bored in class, I’d daydream about how you could utilize and convert the space to lofts or even combine a few rooms together for a larger living space. So, that’s what I’m going to do. I want to honor the era of the building, getting rid of this horrid carpet and restoring some of the areas where corners were cut in the past. But I also want to bring in modern conveniences in the kitchen and bathroom spaces keeping them simple and fresh so they don’t detract from the beauty of the historic elements. It’s in a great area close to downtown and I think that it will be a great fit for lots of folks who want to live in a more walkable area. I hope that the history of the building and the quality and intentionality that we put into it creates an environment where it’s more of a community than just another condo where you go in your door and shut out everything else. I want to revamp the gym and library and let those be amenities of the building and one of the draws for the owners.”

“Wow, that’s a lot,” said Clarke a little dazed imagining all that Lexa had just described.

“Yeah, well I’ve been thinking about it for a while,” Lexa smiled. “A while back I was approached by a local businesswoman who saw my work and mentioned that she’d love to work together on an investment at some point. When I found out that this was going to come on the market, I knew I didn’t want to let this opportunity pass me up. I bought the building and Ms. Franko is fronting the cost for the renovation work, then we’ll split the profits.”

“It sounds amazing,” Clarke said in a small voice. She was glad for Lexa but couldn’t help but feel even more overwhelmed and dejected by her own prospects.

“Look, Clarke, the point is that I’ve been working for a long time on setting my company up to be able to survive without Polis. I have some things lined up and I’ve got a lot of connections in the area. If you or anyone on your team doesn’t want to go, you don’t have to. There is work here for all of you. It might take us a bit to find permanent housing for everyone but I’m sure we could figure something out. So, if you want to, you can stay.”

“Oh, I can, can I?” Clarke huffed a laugh, “No. I’m not going to be some charity case. You don’t have to save me Lexa.” Clarke shook her head and stared dejected at the floor.

“Clarke,” Lexa paused and crossed the room towards her. She gently placed two fingers below Clarke’s chin and raised her head until their eyes met. Clarke felt transfixed by the intense green eyes as Lexa continued, “I **want** you to stay.”

Clarke felt her heart soar at those words. But maybe she wanted them to mean more than they did. But the look in Lexa’s eyes, it was as if she was trying to communicate everything through her gaze. It nearly melted Clarke. Still uncertain, she reached a hand up and lightly traced the small scar on Lexa’s forehead thinking about the day they first met. When she returned her focus to meet Lexa’s gaze, she noticed a change. Her eyes were the dark green of a forest at night with a fiery intensity. Clarke couldn’t help but glance down to her beautiful soft lips remembering their kiss.

A wave of energy crashed across Clarke’s body as Lexa reached a hand out and leaned forward to meet her lips. Clarke’s eyes closed in pleasure, her body acutely aware of the hand along her neck, fingers twisting slightly in her hair, and the soft lips grazing gently against her own. She reached for the waist of the brunette pulling her closer wanting to remove any space between them as she deepened the kiss. Clarke hungered for more and at that very moment Lexa’s tongue glided across her lips pushing into her mouth. She moaned as the taste and feel of this beautiful woman overwhelmed her. Heat radiated where Lexa’s hands had moved to her waist and roamed feeling the curves of her body. Clarke returned the kiss eagerly, wanting to live in this moment forever. She ran her fingers through the silky brown hair and felt Lexa shudder below her touch.

They remined connected in the middle of the empty room. Their hands searching, mouths joined, tongues exploring until they finally broke to catch their breath.

Clarke cleared her throat and blinked her eyes open, “Well when you put it that way…” 

Lexa smiled wide and chuckled slightly. “You know there is just one thing I’m going to need you to do if you’re going to stay.”

Clarke pulled her head back to look at Lexa fully, “What?” she asked hesitantly keeping her arms wrapped around the lean brunette.

“I’m going to need you to come with me to this meeting with Gaia,” Lexa said with a hint of vulnerability in her expression.

Clarke broke into a smile. “I’ll see what I can do,” she said playfully as she leaned back in for another kiss. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took me a while to get this one posted. I had initially planned to mirror some of the similar conflict concepts that we saw in canon 100. However, when I got to writing it I remembered how much I hated that Lexa betrayed Clarke at the mountain. So, I decided what is the point of writing a fan fiction if I'm not writing how I would have rather seen them react to situations! I hope you all enjoy and please leave kuddos or comments on what you think.


	8. The Pitch

Clarke’s phone rang in her pocket. She reached around to silence it without moving her body, not wanting to lose the connection. It immediately began ringing again. “ugghh,” Clarke groaned as she took a step back from the tall brunette and inhaled a deep breath. Her lips were slightly swollen and she immediately felt the absence of Lexa’s mouth on hers. She rested her forehead on Lexa’s trying to steady herself. She cleared her throat and with a scratchy voice said, “guess I better get that.” Lexa still had her arms wrapped loosely around Clarke’s waist as they stood in the middle of the old abandoned classroom.

“CLARrrrrrKE!” the phone blared as soon as she had swiped the screen.

“Raven?” Clarke asked as she scrunched up her face.

“Waas’ the codeee? Clarke? What’s the numbers? We can’t get in!”

“Raven the code is just 100, what’s the problem?” Clarke was irritated by the interruption.

“ ’snot working Clarke!!!” Raven whined.

Clarke rolled her eyes. “Fine! Just stay where you are! I’m coming to you,” she said slowly, then pressed a button and returned the phone to her pocket before looking back up at Lexa. 

“Can I walk you home?” Lexa asked gently.

Clarke nodded but said nothing. They returned to the gym and exited through the side door. The temperature had dropped even further and Clarke shivered. Lexa wrapped an arm around Clarke’s shoulder for warmth and they walked back in silence.

It was about two blocks away from Clarke’s apartment when they could first hear the sounds of the others. Raven, Monty, and Harper had obviously had a fun night dancing and were very excited to see Clarke. After punching in the simple code and ushering all three inside, Clarke turned around.

“I should probably go check on them,” Clarke said nodding her head back towards the door, her arms crossed in front of her against the cold.

“Goodnight, Clarke.” Lexa said, looking deep into the blue eyes in front of her, then turning to finish her walk home.

Clarke reached out and grabbed her wrist gently, spinning her around and meeting their lips together one more time. They kissed gently, relishing the taste and feel of one another.

“Goodnight,” Clarke said as she pulled away. With a playful grin on her face, she turned on her heal and ducked inside the door to her building.

Lexa shook her head and grinned as she started off into the night. 

******

Lexa rolled over as a beam of sunlight through the window hit her face. Her lips buzzed at the memory of Clarke’s mouth on hers the night before. Lexa smiled to herself. She laid on her back staring up the ceiling, thinking about all of the moving pieces in her mind. Then she reached over to the bedside table for her phone.

 _“Set it up.”_ Lexa typed out the message to Gaia and pressed send.

Her phone immediately dinged in response. _“Yes, commander!”_

Lexa grinned and shook her head at the nickname as she messaged back. _“And Clarke will be at the meeting as well.”_

_“Really?”_

_“A coalition between her people and ours only makes the pitch stronger.”_

_“It’s done.”_

********

“The truth is we are looking for something different,” said the producer who was perched on a love seat in Gaia’s office. Lexa and Clarke sat in matching armchairs across from her and Gaia presided over the meeting from behind her desk.

Lexa hadn’t exactly told Clarke what the meeting was about. Just that it was a business opportunity. She wasn’t sure exactly why, maybe she was worried that it would scare Clarke off. Or that she would think the idea was crazy. The look on Clarke’s face showed that she was very confused. But Lexa needed her here. Two nights ago, at the window of her childhood classroom was the first time that Lexa had truly been able to express in words why she wanted to do this work.

“Obviously, we have several shows across the country with boring real estate agents walking folks through homes, no offense Gaia.” The producer paused slightly and raised her hand to Gaia.

“None taken,” Gaia said waving her hand dismissively.

“And we have all of these remodel shows with the cartoony, buffoonish male contractor and their decorator wife,” the producer mused. “And we pretend that they’re different because they’re in a different city, but honestly, they aren’t. Of course, we need key individuals that can anchor a show. But I’m looking for something new, from the content to the personalities. I want something fresh, something innovative, something inspiring.”

Lexa could see Gaia buzzing with excitement. This is everything that Gaia had been pitching to her for the last several years. And Lexa had to give it to her, she’d never let go of this idea. She had spent the last several years, on top of her remarkably successful real estate career, reaching out to contacts and building relationships with producers at all the biggest networks.

“That is precisely what you’ll find here,” Gaia beamed. “We don’t just want to remodel homes we want to take an innovative approach at reusing existing spaces in new ways. We want to honor the history of overlooked buildings and redesign them in a way that honors the past and paves way for a new future. Not only is this a creative approach not seen in your current content, but it encourages sustainability which, according to your own market research, is a high priority for your audience. And you won’t find anyone better at this than Lexa.”

Lexa had always wanted to pursue adaptive reuse of old buildings around town. Since she was a kid, she felt herself drawn to the crumbling facades and her imagination would turn them over in her mind. She had notebooks full of sketches and ideas. However, she had always been hesitant about Gaia’s idea to scale that up into entertainment programming. Gaia insisted that there was demand but Lexa just couldn’t see herself as an entertainer. She knew that Gaia would bring great energy to the show but Lexa had always expressed her passion through her work. Lexa was certain that bringing Clarke on would give them the balance they needed on the show. And, selfishly she thought, the show might convince Clarke to stay.

“Yes, Gaia certainly has sung your praises,” the producer said nodding to Lexa. “She has shared some of your work and I have to say it’s quite impressive.”

Lexa gave a thin-lipped smile and bowed her head slightly in acknowledgement of the compliment but still said nothing. She chanced a glance towards Clarke who seemed to be nodding in agreement. Immediately she felt a rush of energy like this might actually work. Like maybe Clarke wasn’t too mad at her for not explaining more about what this meeting was about and what exactly Lexa was proposing. She returned her attention to the conversation.

The producer turned to face Lexa fully and stared at her with a questioning gaze. “And do you share in Gaia’s enthusiasm for this project?” She asked pointedly.

Lexa smiled before continuing in a confident tone, “No one can match Gaia’s enthusiasm, however, I share in her passion. There is a housing shortage in our community and there are buildings sitting empty. This show would help to highlight ways in which we, as a society, can start rethinking what resources are available when it comes to housing.”

The producer tilted her head considering Lexa’s response and then gave an approving nod. “I’ll admit that it is an exciting concept, but do you have the pieces in place to make it a reality?”

“Since you know Gaia, you know that she is relentless,” Lexa stated in a smooth tone that commanded respect. “And she has a special knack for getting what she wants, from meetings with producers to off the market old buildings. My crew has been working in this community for years and has far reaching connections. We function as a family and, as such, there is nothing that we will not do for one another. And Clarke,” Lexa glanced over to the beautiful blonde as she continued, “leads a team of world-class designers. They are enthusiastic, creative, and loyal. Together we _will_ be doing this work. The question is, will _your_ network be filming it?”

A grin slowly crossed the producers face as she crossed her arms in front of her and surveyed the three women. Lexa sat tall and straight returning the producer’s gaze. Out of the corner of one eye she could see Gaia’s playful smile and knew that she was enjoying this little exchange. What she couldn’t tell was what Clarke thought of all of this.

“You’d have to be ready to hit the ground running,” the producer stated after a moment.

Gaia swiveled her chair to reach for a stack of folders on the cabinet behind her. “We have at least four jobs lined up and ready to go with another 6 in the pipeline. All are focused on creating housing inventory and innovative live/work spaces.”

She turned back around. “A school building built in 1896 all set to be converted to high end condos,” Gaia said dropping the top folder on the desk in front of the producer. “A 1941 war era warehouse to be converted to a restaurant and living space for the owners.” She said dropping the next folder. “A 1901 Synagogue converted to a single family home with an attached short-term rental. And a mid-century bank that’s set to be converted to a coffee shop with owner’s residence. All are ready to break ground on our word.” She finished dropping two more folders in front of the producer.

“I’m impressed.” the producer said thumbing through the files casually.

A quiet knock sounded and Gaia’s assistant opened the door gently. Gaia nodded for her to enter. She wheeled in a cart of coffee, tea, and pastries. “Thank you,” Gaia said to the assistant as she rose to serve her guests.

Gaia’s phone chimed as she sat back down and she glanced at the screen while the producer continued.

“If the network decides to move forward, we would be sending a film crew to town for a test run. During filming the crew would only be here intermittently, so you have to be ready to respond to changes within the filming window. We have to know going into it that your team is able to respond to emergencies.”

Gaia smiled broadly an idea forming in her mind as she read the message on her phone, “actually, do you have time for a little field trip?” She looked up to the producer. “I’d like to show you exactly how this team operates in emergencies.”

Lexa furrowed her brow at Gaia then once again glanced at Clarke who seemed even more confused.

“Very well,” the producer agreed.

“Fantastic,” Gaia responded, all business now. “Lexa, I have a listing set to go on the market in two days. The owners were having the double vanity replaced prior to photos tomorrow. The vanity just took a nosedive off the delivery truck and looks like it would now be better used as kindling.” Gaia turned her phone around to show the others the photo of a cracked pile of wood in the middle of an alley behind a large white delivery truck. “Please?” Gaia pleaded.

It wasn’t the first time that Lexa had been called in to fix some emergency. And while she had no patience for poor planning, accidents couldn’t be helped. Besides, they were family, of course she would fix it.

“Text me the address, we’ll meet you there,” Lexa said as she rose from the chair and faced Clarke for the first time. “Ride with me?” she asked quietly a note of pleading in her tone.

Clarke, her legs and arms crossed, stared up at her for a few moments before rising and leading the way out the door. _Ugh, this is going to be a fun drive_ Lexa thought as she followed after the blonde.

**Author's Note:**

> Always fun to play with how characters that we love might fit into different settings. I wanted to attempt to honor their characteristics, spirit, and motivations and see how that might play out in another world. Hope you enjoy!


End file.
